In one of the most anticipated patent trials in recent memory, Samsung and Apple have been facing off against each other in a San Jose courtroom for weeks. Possible damages of up to $2.5 billion and a halt on sales of several popular models of Samsung devices were at stake. Now it's all over. The result?

Apple won, big time.

Court officials announced the jury reached a verdict at 2:35pm Pacific time. Lawyers from both sides were called in, as well as a mob of reporters. Tensions were high as the complex verdict was read:

Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple’s claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer.

Apple reacts:

Apple, naturally, is happy with the results. Here's their statement:

We are grateful to the jury for their service and for investing the time to listen to our story and we were thrilled to be able to finally tell it. The mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung's copying went far deeper than even we knew. The lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were about much more than patents or money. They were about values. At Apple, we value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy. We applaud the court for finding Samsung's behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn't right.

Conclusion:

The jury has handed Samsung a near complete and utter defeat. It's hard to imagine a better result for Apple.

The only silver lining in the verdict, if there is any, is that the jury did not find infringement of design patent D'889 . That's the one that covers tablets shaped like a rounded rectangle, with a thin bezel, edge-to-edge glass, and minimal extras. It's odd that they didn't strike it down as invalid, but neither did they say Samsung infringed it.

Also, the judge has left Samsung plenty of grounds for appeal. She seriously limited the amount of time given to both sides for cross-examination, and rejected Samsung's attempt to get examples of prior art entered into evidence. The precedent is already set, however, and Apple is likely to use it to go after other Android phone makers.

Total bill for Samsung: $1.05 billion. If upheld on appeal it will the the largest patent award of all time.

Total bill for Apple: $0. Not counting legal fees, of course.

The next step is that Apple will seek an injunction in order to get infringing Samsung products taken off the shelves. A hearing for a preliminary injunction has been scheduled for September 20th. A permanent injunction could come later.

Ed Burnette has been hooked on computers ever since he laid eyes on a TRS-80 in the local Radio Shack. Since graduating from NC State University he has programmed everything from serial device drivers and debuggers to web servers. After a delightful break working on commercial video games, Ed reluctantly returned to business software. He...
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